


Like a Mint Cookie

by hawkeye



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-24
Updated: 2012-02-24
Packaged: 2017-10-31 16:05:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/345967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawkeye/pseuds/hawkeye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for bevinkathryn/my Merlin, for her birthday. A night in with Merlin and Arthur during a thunder storm. Lots of fluff and cuddles on the couch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like a Mint Cookie

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bevinkathryn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bevinkathryn/gifts).



He leaves puddles of water behind him in the shape of footprints. The staircase of the apartment complex is dark and smells damp – because the tenants, much like Arthur, have been dragging their waterlogged selves in. 

The puddle he creates in front of his flat door is bigger. Arthur stands there for a moment, shoving his hands into his pockets and trying to find his key. It takes him a moment, but he finds it in his back pocket, accompanied by a few soggy pieces of gum. 

“Merlin?” He calls out, as he kicks off his first shoe, and then nudges the other off with his heel. Arthur successfully manages to dampen his sock in this process, and decides that he would be better off without socks anyway. 

So he hobbles down their short hallway one foot at a time as he tugs off his socks. There are photos on the wall; their vacation with Gwen and Morgana to Spain, Christmas photos with obnoxious hats, and a photo of them that Gwaine took of them making out in St. Peter's Square. Arthur pauses at the last one and straightens it. It's one Merlin put up just recently, of their one year anniversary. The angles a little off, but it's of them in bed, Merlin's lips pressed against Arthur's cheek. 

Arthur finds Merlin in the kitchen in nothing but his fluffy rainbow socks and Arthur's old footie shirt. And boxers, of course. Standing in front of an oven with without those can be dangerous. Which may or may not be something Arthur has had to learn from experience. 

Merlin's back is to him, waving a wooden spoon above his head as he snaps his fingers, hips grinding the air to a tune that Arthur can't hear. 

“This is what the world is for, making electricity~” Merlin sings, and Arthur realizes that he has headphones in. 

Arthur watches Merlin for a minute. He should probably change out of his wet clothes, but it's very rare that Merlin showcases his, frankly, fantastic ass. Yet another puddle begins to form and his clothes start to feel stiff. 

Merlin turns. “Shock me like an electr – oh my god oh holy shit.” The wooden spoon in his hand goes flying through the air towards Arthur's face. 

Arthur manages to duck in time, though the duck is more of the doubled-over-in-laughter sort of duck.

“Jesus Christ, Arthur!” Merlin's ears have gone red, and the rest of his face is following suit. “I didn't hear you come in!” He tugs the headphones out of his ears, draping the cord over his neck. “Why are you soaking?”

He doesn't answer right away, mostly because his side hurt from laughing. “Obviously you didn't hear the thunderstorm that's been roaring outside, either.” He says. Merlin's eyes automatically go to the closed blinds on the window. Arthur takes this moment to close the gap between them, going to press him against the counter in a kiss.

Merlin however, evades him.

“No! You are wet and cold. No kises.” He says and pulls another spoon from the drawer. 

“But your kiss can warm me up!” Arthur insists, but Merlin forces him back into the hallway with a threatening waggle of the spoon.

Arthur peels his clothing off with sickening slowness as he makes his way down the hallway. He fiddles with the the button on his jeans as he turns the light on in their bedroom with his shoulder. The room is messy and the bed is unmade. It smells like Merlin' deodorant and Arthur's cologne and a bit like sweat, too. 

The walls have a few posters on them – framed, because Merlin didn't like the thought of someone crumbling his minimalist movie posters he bought from someone on the internet. He shrugs out of the rest of his clothes and shivers as the air attacks his skin, pricking the hairs on the back of his neck. There are heaps of laundry around his ankles, and Arthur kicks through them, trying to find something to wear. 

In the end, he finds a pair of sweats and a hoodie from university, amidst the boxers and wrinkled dress shirts. Before heading back to the kitchen he pokes his head into the bathroom and stuffs his wet clothes and socks into the hamper.

“So what are we eating tonight?” Arthur asks, watching from the door frame once more as Merlin grabs two plates from the top shelf.

“Rat.” Merlin says, nudging sausages from the frying pan onto the plates. 

“Ah, so that's why you bought those mouse traps.” Arthur kisses Merlin's cheek and rests his head on Merlin's shoudler. He nods at the pot of mashed potatoes. “And I suppose that's your monthly collection of dandruff?”

Merlin ladles the food onto the plates, and frowns. “No. These are potatoes, you sick fuck.”

They decide to eat on the couch, buried together underneath the red and blue blanket that Hunith had crocheted for them. Merlin stretches out and puts his feet up on Arthur's lap. Arthur allows this because Merlin's knees make a good cup holder, and at this point, neither really care about foot-to-food proximity. 

Thunder roars outside, and Merlin twists his head to look out the window. He had open the curtains and turned off the lights while Arthur had changed. Now he was paying more attention to the thunder than the Doctor Who episode. Another burst of thunder, closer this time. Arthur can feel Merlin's body tense. The window goes white a moment later and lightning washes over the room.

“I love storms.” Merlin's body relaxes again and he swirls his teacup. 

Arthur looks away from the TARDIS as it dematerializes. “I know you do.” They had met in the rain. Arthur had been in a soaking suit trying to flag down a cab. Merlin had been on a walk with a rainbow umbrella. He had been kind enough to share the umbrella until Arthur had gotten a cab and when Arthur invited him to share it, Merlin waved it off, but left his number. 

“Want me to do the dishes tonight?” Aruthr asks as he leans over Merlin's legs to set his plate down on the table. It sounded better that 'I just thought of the first time we met and I realized I love you all over again.'

Merlin hums, and looks away from the window. “I'll dry.”

Neither make to get up right away of course. In their household dishes don't usually get done until the food has had time to crust onto the plates. Instead, they watch episode after episode of Doctor Who until Love & Monsters comes on. Merlin gets up, muttering about how being a cement block would be really hard on a relationship, and puts in their Firefly dvds. 

He settles back on the couch, though this time it was his tush on Arthur's lap, not feet. “We should have sex in the rain.” Merlin says, hitting the 'play all' on the dvd menu.

“What, right now?” Arthur's eye brows arch, and he presses a kiss to Merlin's jaw. 

“Well, your hair is still wet.” Merlin's fingers lace into Arthur's hair, pushing it back from his face. The hair sticks, and Merlin grins, pushing the hair to stand upright. “You could get some lovely sex hair out of this.”

“Mm. And pneumonia.” Arthur kisses Merlin's lips, and smiles. “Do you actually want sex in the rain?” 

“Mmhm.” Merlin nods his head. “But maybe not right now. I want cookie dough ice cream.” 

“You are probably the most demanding boyfriend I've ever had.”

“Go get me ice cream.” Merlin bounces on Arthur's lap.

“I can't. You're on top of me and you're being distracting.” Arthur says, putting a hand on Merlin's thigh to stop him from moving around.

“Carry me.” 

So Arthur does. He scoops up Merlin, who locks his legs around Arthur's waist, and shuffles back into the kitchen. They drag the blanket with them and it snags on the coffee table. Later, Arthur will insist that he almost died. 

“I'm not getting a bowl.” Arthur says, and grabs two cartons from the freezer; the cookie dough and the mint. Merlin passes him wooden spoon – the other ones are all dirty and wooden spoons are bigger, there fore, more ice cream intake, he reasons. 

Arthur scoops a bit of the mint into the cookiedough carton, and gives it to Merlin. 

“Isn't this cross contamination?” Merlin asks as he looks at the green and white-specked-with-bits-of-cookie lumps of ice cream

“Delicious cross contamination. Now spread your legs for me.” 

“I thought we weren't having sex.” But Merlin does anyway, snorting laughter into Arthur's shoulder as he picks him up again.

 

Firefly turns into an episode of Being Human, and the ice cream container becomes more and more empty as Merlin and Arthur sink deeper into the couch, legs entangled. 

The screen goes black and Arthur realizes it's nearly two in the morning. There's a puddle of melted ice cream on the floor from a spoonful dropped, but neither bother to pick it up. 

“I don't think I'll be doing the dishes tonight.” Arthur says after an orchestra of thunder claps.

“S'okay. You taste like mint cookies, so I'll forgive you.”


End file.
